Switchfly All Hands Highlights

Welcome to Travel Buddy

In this episode of the Travel Buddy Podcast, we sit down with Nowell Outlaw from Switchfly to discuss the outcomes of their recent 2025 All-Hands meeting in Denver. Learn more about Switchfly's remarkable growth, strategic directions, and their transformation from a tech company into a full-fledged travel service provider. Nowell provides insights into the unique challenges and opportunities arising as they rapidly expand their customer base and service offerings.

Key Highlights:

• Switchfly's strategic evolution using insights from "Playing to Win" to guide their 12-24 month planning.
• The successful onboarding of new air carrier customers and the expansion of dynamic air packaging solutions.
• Switchfly's journey from being solely a tech provider to a comprehensive travel service and support agency.
• Insights into handling growth, onboarding 80% of the Fortune 500 companies for travel redemption using the Switchfly platform.
• The importance of fostering a fun, whimsical corporate culture to drive innovation and employee engagement.

Quotes:

• "If you're not having fun, it makes it really hard to get things done." – Nowell Outlaw
• "We're now able to launch a customer in kind of 30 days, which is really remarkable." – Nowell Outlaw
• "Our key word for this year is growth." – Nowell Outlaw

Transcript

Hello, Noel, and welcome back again for the first, we just mentioned this, the first episode this year. Uh, I'm so excited to have you back and you guys just completed your, uh, all hands meeting for 2025. Uh, everybody was in Denver  a great time partying.  you're ready for 2025. So I would love to hear what did you guys talk about?

What were the highlights? Where are you pointing your ship as it were for, uh, for the next year?

For the next year. Uh, thanks, Brandon. Good to see you. That's, um,  interesting that it's already February, right when we're recording this, because it seems like, you know, it's feels like it's November already this year. Um,  the, you know, the interesting thing is that  when, uh, probably over a year ago, two years ago, there's a great book called Playing to Win, and it's a strategy book.

And I use that consistently to help shape.  both the strategy for kind of 12 to 18 to 24 months as well as you know, OKRs  Subjective and key results that you're mapping every quarter to help drive that forward. So a lot of our focus as a company since we've  Kind of added this capability to be a merchant of record for people has really been around  Um, you know, kind of three, three channels for the company, right air, air suppliers, right?

So if you think of a, an airline, um, we closed, um, a couple of new customers in Q4 that are ones already launched. They're the ones in process. And those are our dynamic air packaging solutions. So if you go to an air carrier and they say, you know, here's a flight plus a hotel plus, you know, car rental plus other stuff.

All of that is, is what's known as dynamic air packaging. So. So we talked a little bit about that.  Um, the other piece is, you know, Switchfly is really a loyalty e commerce travel engine, right? And, and services that market very well. We used to be just kind of the technology, but now that we're doing call center servicing.

You know, online chat servicing for consumers, multiple languages, um, you know, points redemption, earn, like being able to earn, doing all those things, all tied in around, um, rewards and recognition or loyalty programs. So you know, the interesting thing is that, you know,  I would say last year we started this journey in the, in the HR tech space about.

Two years ago, really, and at that time at the end of the first year, we had about three million users.  At the end of last year, we had about 11 to 12 million users, and at the end of Q1, we'll have about 25 million users. And so we also have 80 percent of the Fortune 500 now. If they want to redeem travel, they're using their points.

They're using, they don't know they're using Switchfly, but they're using Switchfly to do it. So it's been a tremendous It's both learning curve for us, but also growth curve for the company. And that's been, um, pretty fun to watch and be a part of because it's like, you know, Hey, now we've got this other brand from some other country or, or,  you know, a customer that, you know, wants to do something unique and it's a unique way.

The most interesting aspect of it is that the company, you know, Switchfly is 21 years old now, so we have a longstanding tradition of doing travel booking engines for people, but we were never our own users, right? And so, you know, unfortunately, sometimes when you're not actually the user of your product, sometimes that bug is like, well, maybe we shouldn't fix that, but now that we are, you know, we are actively using our own product, you're like, I can't believe people actually, uh, put, put up with this bug.

Right. And so now it's getting, getting fixed. So, you know, some of that journey has been really remarkable. Um, and it's, you know, it's, it's changing a corporate culture from just being a software company, right. To being a software company, a travel agency. Including the service and support aspects, right? I think that people forget about, you know, having to have people answer the phones and, you know, and, and deal with a customer who can't check into a hotel, you know, because the hotel didn't get paid and the supplier inventory problems and all that other stuff.

So like, it's been a dramatic transformation, um, and, and truly a remarkable one. And now it's just like keeping focused on the channels that, that we're going after. So it's really where the focus was of the, of the all hands.

Amazing. Amazing. It's so cool to see how you make some of these strategic decisions and you're referencing playing to win. I have not read this. I

No,

need to read this now because you're putting some of these, these pieces together where, Hey, this is the direction we want to go. And because of that, you're seeing such huge growth.

I mean, that's such a,

no.

thing. I love that.

Yeah, part of the problem. I think that, um, people in leadership positions as they say, here's the strategy  and you hope that everybody else gets it right. And it's, it's something that you have to continue to hammer on. And for, for switch flight, it was an adaptation, right? To get back to growing, to get to onboarding new customers.

I mean, the joke, uh, two years ago,  from our CTO was he's like, you know, it's been multiple years since we've had a new client, right at Switchfly because they didn't really do a good job at this. And, you know, we basically have closed eight new customers in about six months, right? And so people even internally aren't, aren't used to, hey, you have an efficient and operating sales team and now you have new customers spinning up.

And so, you know, we've had to.  There's, you know, there's muscle memory that's lost and now that you've gained muscle memory of like, okay, launch a customer, get it going. You know, we're now able to launch a customer in kind of 30 days, which is, which is really remarkable because they can get up and running really fast.

Um, and so it's good, right? So it's,  you know, it's fun to see the different  groups and teams. You know, there, it's a, it's a mind shift and it's a cultural shift internally. So

So, okay, so now that you've got, you've got this kind of, you know, growth trajectory, you've got a new muscle memory to your point. How do you, do you see any kind of challenges coming in the way? Like how, what are you thinking through as the CEO of this company and things that you're thinking about in 2025 that You are, you know, you know, you're going to be working through this year, but also, um, things that are, are going to be really exciting.

I'm trying to, I'm trying to see like, how are you guys kind of sorting through things this year on a challenge and an excitement kind of way

yeah, I think, um,  the, our key word for this year is growth, right? So if I, if I, um, sit at a sales meeting and everyone's like, you know, what should we do? And they're talking about, you know, or it's marketing. I just, I just sit at the table and do this, which is the sign language if you have kids for more,

for more. Yeah,

I want more leads, more deals, more funnel, more pipe, more whatever. Um, but it is true, right? That, that. You know,  we've, we've started to see some, some good initial success. So now it's like more, I want more of that because, you know, we like those kinds of deals. Um, and so it, it's really like, how do you drive it up to the next level where, um, you know, if you, if you were doing 3000 bookings a month and now you're doing 5000 bookings a month and then you're going to 10, 000.

I'm looking, booking some up and trying to get that acceleration, um, in, in what we do. So it's, you know, adding good programs cause there's, there's very good deals and opportunities and there's very kind of not so good deals and opportunities that you see out there in the market. So

So how do you, uh, so, um,  Given some of those things, what is like one of the ways that your strategy is being affected by what you're seeing in the travel industry per se, if I could, if I could phrase it like that, like, okay, so you've got this strategy for the year. How does that dovetail with what you're seeing in market or, you know, on the ground when you're talking to other, other travel leaders or even your customers and how those two things are kind of working together.

yeah, I think, um,  you know, we're seeing, especially right now, we're seeing a little bit of a slowdown. Um, it wasn't in January, January, S popping records. Right. But you're starting to see bookings, not at the velocity and rate that you're used to. Um, and so we're just trying to uncover what's going on, you know, are people, um, you know, 'cause, 'cause with what we do, it's tied to people's discretionary income, right.

Or their points, you know, that they have in their things. And so trying to see if. F  companies aren't reimbursing for points. I, I think they are. Um, but you know what the redemption process is, is looking like, I mean, it's,  you know, it's halfway through February. February is always a slow month anyway. Um, but you, everyone has this, you know, paranoia that all this stuff going on out in the world out there, uh, geopolitically  has an impact, right?

Where it's like, whoa, are people, are people selectively not doing stuff yet? I mean, I think people will travel until, you know, they're lying in their deathbed. So that's good.

I agree. I, I mean, I, you know, more than I do, but I, I mean, there's things that you see out in the news, what's happening in the world, but I'm still going to travel. I'm still going where I need to go and

Yeah,

I know you're traveling. You've got a bunch of travel planned in the next couple of months.

I do a bunch. So yeah, we're trying to that. The interesting thing about the all hands is we had two keynote speakers come and talk.

Hmm.

One is a friend of mine, uh, Alan Arnett and Alan has climbed the, uh, people talk about the seven highest peaks, but there's actually eight of them. So he's climbed the eight highest peaks in the world, including Everest, uh, four times, only one time successfully.

And so, you know, his, his premise is, you know, climbing mountains is hard and it's all about preparation. And, you know, adapting and overcoming and things like that. And so that was, that was really good context for Switchfly. And then the next piece, uh, was a lady named Kathy Dragon who's from Boulder. And she's basically a, um, a, she ran a travel company called, I think it was Whole Travel.

Sorry, Kathy, if I got that wrong. But part of Whole Foods, right? They had this thing and she, she's planned the founder of Whole Foods trips for years, right? But she's in the upper echelons of, you know, exclusive kind of travel and talking about stuff you've never heard of, right? Like, there's all kinds of medical travel now, so you can go to Hawaii and stay in a resort for a week and, and, um, get, you know, intravenous liquids applied, you know, and that's 45, week, right?

Stuff like that. So,

That's wild. Okay. So I've heard of like medical tourism and things like that. And so I know that switch fly is, has a, a, a big heart for experiences. That's been a big part of the messaging and that you kind of trying to create these like memories, uh, you know, to associate with a company or, or, um, with the, wherever your, your loyalty is.

Um, and I'm curious, do you have any plans to create?  travel in that kind of way. Like, are you doing any medical tourism or,

don't think so. I mean, that's tough, right? Like that's, that's hard to promote on a global scale, right? I think it's, you get people who are specialized in that kind of stuff. Um, you know, I see, you know, I think that foodie travel is a big thing, right? Where people are like, I want to go to  Italy and go to the best pasta.

tour, right? I want to gain 30 pounds, but I'm going to do the pasta tour, right? People do that. Um, I was just looking at, you know, a week long hiking trek through Switzerland, right? And then there's very specific kind of niche, um, travel operators that service those, those unique things, including medical, right?

So,

Airbnb experiences come to mind where you can just like go find all these kind of things or what is it? Viator or whatever. These,

Viator. Yeah, we're a Viator partner. I mean, selling that stuff.

that. Love that. Uh, so what was the feedback like from the team? So you guys had this all all hands and everybody was together and you're kind of presenting strategy and opportunities and growth and kind of reporting metrics and things like that.

How is the team receiving that? And how is

Yeah, everybody. I think everybody is on board, right? I mean, it's been  It's been a interesting journey to get here and and trust me like I couldn't do it just by myself It's you know, it's the hundred and fifty people standing behind me that you have to convince that this is the right move and they're leaning in right in order to  Um, you know, make the changes, you know, stand up the customer.

It's a lot of work, right? It's not like we went out and hired a whole nother company to do this. We took our existing company, added some people and basically said, okay, we're going to start bending the metal, right? So that we're starting to forge this way. And you know, everybody's got to go along with that journey.

And so it's been a, um, an interesting trip so, so far to get there. But I think a lot of the, yeah. You know, the hardest tasks are or were kind of in the first 12 months because everything was new, right? Like you have to do credit card processing. Well, you also have to do 3D secure processing and you have to do, um,  you know, this on an international scale and making sure that we could do that and fraud detection and point like all that stuff.

Well, now that that's all set up, it's very easy for us to spin up another client. I was  talking to my wife this morning about Switchfly a little bit. I was like, you know, we've now have this infrastructure on a global scale that if someone walked in the door to us and said, Hey, you know, I've got a program and it's in the United States.

Um, but I also need to do in Europe, right? And I need to have, um, you know, the currencies in, in euros and I need to have it in French and I need to have it in German. I need to have it in Spanish and I need to have it in English and I need to do all this stuff. Okay. I'd be like, sure. Not a problem. Would you like to be live at 30 days?

Right? And, and not a lot of companies are set up to be able to do that, right, on a global scale. And so we have spent a massive amount of time and effort doing that. Um, but, you know, we can do that electronically as a, as a dynamic booking engine for almost anybody, including the, you know, the real, real big programs.

And you're putting that to the test in the next few months because you are traveling so much. So you're going to Africa, Europe. I mean, give me, give me the list of where you're traveling. Yeah, it sounds

Uh, let's see. I'm going to Casablanca 'cause we're, um, Royal Air Morocco's partner now, and Royal Air Morocco for the soccer fans out there is one of the, um, sponsors for the Africa Cup. So we're actually having to figure out how to sell football, soccer tickets with the booking. Uh, so we're working on that with them.

so cool.

and then, so there, and then ITB, which is a travel trade show in Berlin.  Uh, in two weeks, so we'll be in Berlin, then I've got to go to Honolulu, and then I'll end up going back to Germany to go, uh, hiking, probably in Austria in May and June, just to have some fun, so,

That's amazing. That's

yeah,

Impressive.  Okay. Last question for you. What, what is something that you want to leave, uh, with the listeners or with your team even? What is the big takeaway that you're, you're really hoping for 2025, you know, if this came true or, you know, this is the big thing you've talked about.

Growth is kind of the big theme, but what, what, what's the kind of like takeaway message on this?

Well, my takeaway message for the team was always about, uh, being fun. Um, right. It is, you know, being whimsical is key to our, one of our cores, right? It's key to what we do at Switchfly. And it, you know, if you're not having fun, it makes it really hard to get things, things done. Um, and so I ended the meeting on the third day or second day.

with, um, a video from Bruce the Cow, right? So if you know Bruce the Cow, right, yes, of course. But most people in the room didn't know what I was talking about, right? And so he comes in and he's got his cow on his feet. There was actually people in the audience crying because it was so funny, right? And so, um, that was a good way to end because it just, you know, keeps everybody's spirits high, but also, you know, don't, don't take yourself too seriously, right?

Amen. Amen. Yeah, that's something we talk about is we should be more fun because you can get into that just like grind mode of just like producing, you know, and

You know, no one,

not no, it's no way to live.

no. And my, my point of view in life is that no one's coming with handcuffs because I've had that in my life. And in this situation, no one's coming with handcuffs to, to haul you off to jail. Right? So have fun, right?

What's the worst that can happen? You know,

Correct. Correct. So,

  Well, no, thank you. Uh, I know we, we, I think we can share some, some, well, I shouldn't say that, but no, thank you very much for your, uh, your insight always. Uh, I appreciate you guys and what you're, you're trying to accomplish. I think, and I've, I've seen parts of the deck that you shared internally, and I just think it's such an amazing trajectory that you're on.

Uh, like you mentioned, 80 percent of the fortune 500.  your, your technology, such an amazing thing and all this growth. And so, uh, whatever you're doing, it's working. So I'm going to try to read this book now. Um, but yeah, I'm excited to keep having you on every two weeks. We're going to be, uh, talking together for 2025.

And so I'm really excited about, uh, featuring you more often. So no,

Only 23 more to go.

Yes,

Nice.  Alright.

All right, man. Well, thanks. We'll see you next time.